Gilbert Arenas is getting ready for this next upcoming season, as he’s become one of the most important -and even controversial- commentators of the league in recent years. The former athlete is already eyeing up who is going to be this next campaign’s MVP, as he’s convinced this will finally be the year for European star Luka Doncic.
After the Slovenian took the Mavericks all the way to the NBA Finals last season, the three-time All-Star has high hopes that the 25-year-old is only going to get better and better, and should be able to improve his individual stats. This would be quite a feat, considering he averaged 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 9.8 assists per match across 70 appearances.
Nevertheless, Arenas thinks he will achieve more with Klay Thompson at his side. “I don’t want to put this type of pressure on him. I’d be surprised if he don’t average a triple-double. Because if you average that many assists with what you had, now you got (Thompson) who’s a catch-and-shoot, so some of your assists will come without even any effort this time,” he said.
Gilbert Arenas predicts Klay Thompson’s arrival will boost Luka Doncic’s game: He could average a triple-double.#MFFLhttps://t.co/YOIi32WHqc
— Basketball Sphere (@BSphere_) September 16, 2024
The ex-NBA star believes that all he needs now is a trophy and he will definitely improve his game. “You should average a triple-double. He will probably be the number one candidate for MVP. He’s gonna do something that hasn’t been done in a few years,” Gilbert insisted.
Another who recently gave him some praise, as well as advice, was his old friend Dirk Nowitzki. “Well, just keep doing what he’s doing, honestly. Do your game. Play your game. I know it wasn’t the ending you were hoping for, but you know what? You’re just getting started, you’re 25 years old,” he expressed back in June.
Luka finished third last season in MVP voting behind Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, plus during the NBA Finals it was Jaylen Brown who earned the title as the series MVP.
His former Dallas teammates believes that sometime you have to lose big, to win bigger. “It’s good sometimes to get a little disappointment, to try again, to motivate you and push you to work harder and become an even better player if that’s even possible,” Nowitzki said.
While many experts believe Luka will improve, many have expressed that Jayson Tatum is another who will continue to develop into the league’s next MVP
Ex-NBA champion Quinn Cook posted his thoughts on X: “Jayson Tatum will win MVP this season! Three straight All-NBA first teams, winning a gold medal in 2021 while being the 2nd leading scorer on the team and just won his first NBA championship to not playing a minute for team USA 🤔🤔 all the motivation he needs. Look out NBA.”
In less than an hour, the post already had over 40,000 impressions. This comes as no surprise, as last season the 26-year-old produced averages of 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.0 steals per match while shooting 47.1% from the field and 37.6% from beyond the arc in 74 games.
Coming off fresh after winning his first-ever NBA title, Jayson Tatum already believes that a rematch is coming next summer. The Boston star has his confidence through the roof as he also contributed to Team USA’s recent gold medal in the Paris Olympics, and is convinced that his squad will make another deep run next season.
Even though he didn’t specify if the Celtics would conquer another ring, but did share that the Dallas franchise will win another Western Conference before meeting them again in the Finals stage. The forward said this on national television during an appearance on last Wednesday’s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
“It’s gonna be a rematch. We’re going to play Dallas again,” Jayson expressed after giving it some thought.
